“The third day after, they saw two great fires sweeping toward them over the prairie. The women cried out with fear. All thought that they should die.
“When the fires came near, the people saw that they were the two dogs, Death and Sickness.
“‘Do not fear,’ said the dogs. ‘Our hearts are not all evil. True, we will bite you, because you forgot us; but we will also live with you and be your friends. We will carry your burdens; and when we die, you shall eat us.’
“The dogs grew old. The white one died, and her skin became the squash. Now our squashes are of different colors, white, gray, yellow, spotted, just as are dogs. These squashes we eat. Also we Rees eat dog meat; for, before he died, the black dog said, ‘You shall eat my flesh.’
“And to this day, when our Ree people sicken and die, they say, ‘We are bitten by Sickness and Death.’”
My father smiled. “We Hidatsas do not eat dogs,” he said; and then to me, “Little daughter, it is bedtime.”
I did not always obey my mothers; for, like all little girls, I was naughty sometimes, but I dared not disobey my father.
I put my dog out of the lodge, and went to bed.
